City of IF

[LordoftheNight]

Chapter Thirteen: Possible Options

Ulliana stared at Zanthe, unable to comprehend his offer. To leave Kagemusho behind, after all he’d done for her seemed unthinkable now, though once she would have ditched him without a moment’s hesitation. The aid he had willingly provided, without any compensation had proved him to be not only a loyal ally, but a true friend. However, even the desire not to simply leave him was not strong enough to overwhelm her natural cunning, and she could still sense that for all his abilities, Kagemusho’s talents paled in comparison with that of Zanthe. Zanthe had driven off the Wraiths with ease; the dark conflagration conjured by his body more than powerful enough to easily destroy their ethereal bodies.

“I,” she started, wondering just how to express herself to the powerful mage, “I was wondering. Would it be possible to restore Kagemusho to health any quicker? I have very little money, but there must be some way. Some rare potion or spell?”

“Well,” began the dark clothed mage, his long blonde hair draped around his shoulders, “I suppose that asking Sister Silence can’t hurt. Be careful not to offer insult though, she does not take kindly to it.” He smiled, almost cruelly. “She does not take well to jests either.” Nodding her consent, the Rakshasa inclined her head back towards the doorway, and along the corridor that led to the common room. “Now? Oh very well,” he started, flicking his blonde hair over his shoulder with an elegant twist of his head, and strode once more towards the gathering.

Heads turned as they entered the room once more, several of the drinking men raising their tankards in salute. One battle-hardened warrior, his bright orange hair shaven to his scalp and face criss-crossed with scars even went so far as to climb to his feet, and lunge clumsily towards the pair, desire etched into his face. Zanthe merely placed a perfectly manicured hand over his chest, and blew him backwards, a spark emitting from his bright green eyes. The drunkard stumbled away, tripping over his feet and crashing to the floor. A chorus of laughter followed his hasty disposal, even as the pair continued onwards to the stairway on the room’s far side.

Below the communal gathering room, a network of rooms and darkly illuminated corridors spread outwards under the grounds of the building. Zanthe led her throughout the winding passageways, pushing open a door to reveal the prone figure of Kagemusho. His injuries were bandaged, blood still dripping from his crippled left hand. Sister Silence was crouched over him, mopping his forehead with a damp cloth. At the soft squeak of the door’s opening she looked round, a fierce look on her normally peaceful face.

“What are you doing here – I told you he needs to rest.” She rose to her feet, ushering the pair out of the door and following behind them, pulling the door to behind her. “Now, what are you doing down here you young rapscallion, you and your feline mistress? Shame on you, disturbing an injured man’s rest.” Zanthe shot Ulliana a glance, warning her to keep quiet and turned to face the white-clad healer once more.

“Sister Silence. Ulliana here was wondering whether there was any chance of helping her friend along, speeding his recovery if you will. Now I’m no healer, but I know there are mystical means of healing. Would any help do you feel?” As he spoke, Ulliana was staring through the crack in the door at her wounded companion. Sister Silence pursed her tight, wizened lips, and stared hard at the rouge.

“Well, if you have the time or the money to spare, then there are a few ways I suppose. There a few potions which deal with healing. However, his body is mostly healed – what he needs is time. His mind appears almost to have shut-down, perhaps in an effort to deal with the pain. The museum has recently acquired a new relic, which is supposed to ward off Undead. You said it was Wraiths which injured yes?” she demanded of Zanthe, but continued without waiting for a reply.

“That might be enough to remove the poison from his body. Otherwise, your only chance would be Yellow Auclid Roots. Their healing properties – both of the body and mind are legendary. However, they are very rare.” She sighed, shoulders heaving. “It is up to you. I don’t know if any of those methods will work, but…it shouldn’t hurt to try.”

[Chinaren]

Nice, if short, one Lords.

I would say ask around for the root first, see if anyone knows where to find some.

If that fails, try for the relic. If you can find the roots, maybe wait until Kagey is healed and try for the relic anyway. Sounds useful.

:D

[Shady Stoat]

Great chapter there, Lordy :D

I don't think we have either the time to go hunting for rare roots or the money to pay for them if we find them. Whichever way it goes, we're going to have to steal (which is no problem, it's what Ulliana is good at).

In which case, I'd say she's better off going straight to the museum and polishing up her thievery skills again. :D

[ninja baloon]

Why not steal both. :D Im sure theres a good alchemist or herbelist nearby. If you can't steal the roots maybe you could steal the cash to pay for them.

[LordoftheNight]

Well, seeing how it's a short chapter, there really isn't any need to wait for discussion. Fairly simple poll - which one, if any to get.

Have fun.

[ninja baloon]

Voted and winning. :D
The relic I think is the simplest thing to obtain. You know where it is for a start.

[dragon_fire372]

Read up from chapter nine, took a while but was well worth it. :D

We want Kagemusho to come with us as well healed as possible, and the roots seem the best way to do that. However, if they're too difficult to obtain the relic should be the next choice.

[LordoftheNight]

We appear to have a tie. Would one of my loyal readers care to break it - I think Smee and Soily haven't voted yet - as I'd like to get started on the next chapter.

[Smee]

Hey Lordy,

A short, but sweet chapter. We move forward, and we now have some good options for helping Kagemusho.

It's good that we're showing appropriate wariness around Zanthe - as was noted in the chapter, he certainly isn't shy of powers but so far seems to be relatively trust worthy. How much of that is out of kindness, and how much is from his own unease about the extent of our powers remains to be seen. Let's hope it lasts.

I've voted for following the Yellow Auclid Roots lead - but if that is going to turn into an extended quest, then I heed Stoat's point and suggest we go after the artefact - stealing it if necessary.

Happy Writing :)

[Solomon Birch]

Moving forward I see... Good. :)

Some points:

Quote: Be careful not to offer insult though, she does not take kindly to it.

Who does take kindly to insult?

Quote: Would any help do you feel?

Not the best laid out sentance. I think something along the lines of Do you think any would help? Something like that.

Quote: rouge

He's a lipstick is he? Should be rogue

Now, I think that attempting to find the roots would be the best course of action. Stealing the relic could just get us into trouble, and I don't think Ulliana has the means or the desire to do the others. Might as well find out more about the root. If all else fails, then they can try the potions.

*holds breath* :shock: